However, along with commercial success and critical acclaim (read our Super Smash Bros. Wii U review), Nintendo's latest installment of the zany fighting game series has also caused major problems for a significant number of players (after a glitch in the 3DS version already banned several gamers for 136 years). In recent days, an increasing number of users have encountered a pair of game-breaking (and sometimes system-bricking) error codes: 160-0103 and 160-1710. Fortunately, it sounds as though Nintendo has wasted no time in addressing the issue.

A few days back (from the time of this writing), a Nintendo representative named "Julie" posted to the Miiverse message boards indicating that the publisher was looking into the errors - and attempting to remedy the problem ASAP.

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At the time, it sounded as though the errors were isolated to Super Smash Bros. Wii U's "For Glory" mode - which appeared to be the primary culprit. While the errors affected individual users differently, players have described everything from corrupted saves to entirely bricked systems - causing many to set the title aside until the problem is addressed. In the days since, additional users have reportedly encountered the errors without ever playing "For Glory" or Super Smash Bros. Wii U at all - indicating that 160-0103 and 160-1710 are actually glitches in the Wii U system software.

Nintendo has yet to comment on exactly what has been causing the errors but, earlier today, the developer quietly released a new OS update for Wii U - numbered 5.3.2.

Here's a (brief) breakdown of the update from the official Nintendo Support site:

Changes in system software version 5.3.2

System stability improvements and other adjustments - Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user’s experience.

Unfortunately, Nintendo does not specify exactly what aspects of the system have been stabilized in the update but it's easy to imagine that 5.3.2 is intended to address errors 160-0103 and 160-1710. By comparison, the description for 5.3.1 was much more specific and outright claimed to have "fixed" Error Code 104-1825 (which prevented Mario Kart 8 players from uploading highlight reels to YouTube). As we know from problems with PS4 update 2.0, OS patches can cause unintended issues to pop-up - and, as a result, it'd be strange for Nintendo to push out a new update that doesn't make strides in addressing the primary problem that users are experiencing.

That said, Nintendo's reluctance to outright state that version 5.3.2 solves the aforementioned errors could mean that the software team isn't entirely sure that they've nipped those errors entirely. Internal testing may have indicated that the problem has been contained but Nintendo is probably smart to release the update and see if it works - before taking credit for solving such a high profile problem. Still, the update comes only four days after version 5.3.1 - by far the quickest turnaround for a Wii U system update in the console's history. Typically, Wii U system updates occur every few months, with a few exceptions, indicating that 5.3.2 was pushed out to address a specific problem - not just provide routine stability improvements.

Ultimately, gamers who are holding-out for a confirmed fix may want to wait a bit longer before playing their Wii U. It may take a little while before gamers (and Nintendo) know for sure that the new system update has completely resolved the latest error code issue - as players across the globe stress test the new OS.